Pletcher Ace Lands Brooklyn

Any Given Saturday warmed up for a crack at the 5million Breeders' Cup Classic - Powered By Dodge with a gritty success in the Brooklyn Handicap at Belmont Park.

Although outsider Tasteyville led by a wide margin at one point, Todd Pletcher's charge came with a sustained drive to master the runner-up inside the final furlong.

After going on to record a two-and-a-half-length triumph, Pletcher admitted: 'Any time you are a big favourite, you just want everything to go smoothly.

'Garrett (Gomez, jockey) said that when he left the gate, there was contact between two or three horses, and that got him up on the bridle. Garrett got him back and settled him.

'We thought earlier in the year that he was one of the best three-year-olds. He got a foot bruise in the Kentucky Derby, but everything else has been perfect since.'

Any Given Saturday, who previously won the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park, did not enjoy the smoothest of starts in the Brooklyn.

However, Gomez was impressed with the way his mount got on with the job and is looking forward to the Classic on October 27.

He added: 'He's proved he likes it down there (at Monmouth Park) and hopefully, he'll run the same kind of race (as he did in the Haskell Invitational).'

And of Any Given Saturday's latest success, he told www.bloodhorse.com: 'We all got tangled (at the start). I hit the side of the gate, and my colt broke outward. It took us about four jumps to get off each other.

'Once I got him settled back into a good rhythm, he (did) run a good race. He did have to overcome some things and he did have to make up some ground.'

(C) PA Sport